1. Field:
The present disclosure relates generally to aircraft and, in particular, to presenting information for use in operating aircraft. Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for presenting notices to airmen on maps for use in operating aircraft.
2. Background:
Notices to airmen contain information used to operate an aircraft. Notices to airmen are also referred to as NOTAMs. A notice to airmen is created and transmitted by government agencies. The notice to airmen may include information identifying hazards en route or at a specific location. These notices are filed with an aviation authority. In turn, the aviation authority disseminates or sends the notices to the various operators of aircraft.
Notices to airmen include information used to operate an aircraft. For example, the information may be about events. These events may change the flight of an aircraft. These types of events include, for example, air shows, parachute jumps, rocket launches, and other types of events. Further, these notices may include information about flights for important people, such as heads of state. Notices to airmen also may identify closed runways, inoperable radio navigation aids, military exercises, inoperable lights on tall obstructions, a passage of birds through airspace, the status of runways, taxiways, and aprons with respect to snow, ice, and standing water, and/or other suitable information.
Notices to airmen are distributed in a text format. A notice to airmen may include several pages of text. This text is often complex and displayed in different formats, depending on the entity distributing the notice to airmen. Further, the notice to airmen is also in an encoded format. For example, a notice to airmen may include abbreviations, selected formatting, and selected labeling. Currently, these notices to airmen may be presented in paper form or on a display screen by a computer, such as an electronic flight bag.
The presentation of these notices in text and in encoded formats increases the amount of time needed to identify information for operating an aircraft. As a result, increased workloads on operators, such as pilots, may occur. This increased workload may increase the amount of time needed to complete a flight.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a method and apparatus that takes into account one or more of the issues discussed above, as well as possibly other issues.